Ground Rents

Swift Capital is a large buyer of both residential and commercial freehold ground rents of any size singularly or in portfolios. With a significant nationwide portfolio, we regularly acquire ground rents usually offering significantly higher prices than those offered by long leaseholders or local investors.

If you are considering selling your freehold we will value your ground rents free of charge and without obligation. We can assist you if required with serving the statutory Notices, offering your tenants the right of first refusal. This invariably saves time and costs.

If you are a developer we can work with you in the early stages to maximise the value of your freehold and can complete concurrently with your last sale.

Ground rent - An explanation

Ground rent refers to a payment which is made under the terms of a long-term lease agreement by a leaseholder to the freeholder.

Under the terms of a lease agreement, the freeholder (the outright owner of the land or property) grants permission for a leaseholder to take ownership of the property for a pre-defined period of time. This could range from 21 years to 999 years and during this time the leaseholder will pay ground rent to the freeholder. Freeholders lease property for the purpose of collecting ground rent for long term investment.

However, a number of factors mean that those currently leasing their properties could find it difficult to make ground rent collection work as an investment.

The most obvious issue with leaseholds is the length of the lease period itself, with leases lasting for at least 21 years in the majority of cases and often much longer. Ground rents themselves are usually quite low and there are restrictions on when and how increases in ground rent can be introduced. This can mean that the freeholder actually sees diminishing returns year-on-year from ground rent income in real terms. It can also be extremely difficult to recover debts from late payers, with a complex and lengthy rent recovery system in place which makes it difficult to take debtors to court over unpaid ground rent. For more information to see how Swift Capital can help if you have a property that is producing income from ground rents contact us now.

The most obvious issue with leaseholds is the length of the lease period itself, with leases lasting for at least 21 years in the majority of cases and often much longer. Ground rents themselves are often quite low and there are restrictions on when and how increases in ground rent can be introduced into a lease agreement. During periods of economic inflation, this can mean that the freeholder can actually see diminishing returns year-on-year from ground rent income in real terms.

It can also be extremely difficult to recover debts from late payers, with a complex and lengthy rent recovery system in place which makes it difficult to take debtors to court over unpaid ground rent.

For more information to see how Swift Capital can help you if you have a property that is producing income through ground rent contact us.